It would be hard to script a sporting yarn quite like the one that took place on Boxing Day 2021. The diehards know. It all began the previous year with a freshly minted medal in honour of a great Australian cricket pioneer — Johnny Mullagh (Unaarrimin), a Jardwadjali Aboriginal man from western Victoria. Then followed the selection of the fourth only Indigenous player in modern history to pull on the Baggy Green — Scott Boland, who debuted at the Boxing Day Test.

Christmas gets me every year. The tree’s still not up. There’s not a single gift in our house yet. Rum ball making is behind schedule. Plans for Christmas lunch are elusive. And I have absolutely no desire to set foot in the shops. I’ve been avoiding them all week. I mean, have you seen the centre carparks? They are scary.

Half of the languages spoken today will be extinct by 2100, and that’s a conservative estimate, according to the United Nations. The majority are Indigenous. Australia, home of the oldest living culture in the world made up of diverse language groups and dialects, tops the charts when it comes to Indigenous linguicide — something we should all be concerned about.

Some challenges can feel impossible to overcome. Maybe you’re feeling the weight of the world right now? Perhaps a sense of loss is upon you, financial stress or uncertainty? Maybe you just can’t find the open door, the one that allows you to step forward into a better place.

What do crippling debt, power blackouts, childhood obesity and depression all have in common? It’s the way we house ourselves. We have been sold a lie — a late capitalist delusion — that big is better. We cram more people into elevators the size of a toilet cubicle than we house in a hefty 4x2 dwelling with a 250sqm footprint.

It would be hard to imagine a living hell worse than the trenches of World War I, the reason why we celebrate Remembrance Day — to respect those who sacrificed a lot, and many of them their lives, to fight what were generally other people’s battles. Can you imagine The bombs and bullets, the noise and agony.

As I walked on the earth, my feet bare to the ground, I stopped and breathed in — the scent of rich humic soil, straight from the forest floor danced across the air, activating memories from long ago. Here I was, nearly three decades later. Home. Back on the land that filled my early life with such meaning.

Art holds profound healing potential. We see it in our daily lives and in the evocative and illustrious works that line gallery walls. Vincent Van Gogh used his craft as a panacea during his days in psychiatric care. Edvard Munch — the man made famous for the painting The Scream — conveyed his own struggle with mental illness through his work, too.

Fewer young West Australians lost their life to suicide last year compared with 2020. The causes of death report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week reveals that 47 young people in Western Australia died by intentional self-harm in 2021. This is a sharp decrease from the previous year.

When freeze is activated, the body shuts down — it remains underactive, trapped in hypo-arousal. It’s often impossible to think or move, and all metabolic processes drop — heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, the immune system and depth of breathing, social behaviour, and the ability to attune to the human voice decreases.

I’ve been devouring the most delectable series on Netflix this year, partly thanks to COVID, which took me down for weeks. The Chef’s Table is a cracker. It’s a must watch for any aspiring entrepreneur, small-business owner or change maker. And the food . . . oh, the food.

Easing worries of the mind and calming a restless spirit can seem like an endless and challenging pursuit at times. But the Stoics had the right idea. The Hellenistic school of thought was founded about 300BC by a shipwrecked Greek man — Zeno of Citium in Cyprus — who turned to philosophy after suffering the loss of his material possessions and surviving ill-fortune.

The AFL Grand Final. It’s arguably the most important event on the Australian sporting calendar with the country’s two best teams pitted against each other at the MCG. As we get ready for the bounce-down, perhaps we can spend a moment reflecting on the origins of the game that has captivated millions.

At the southern tip of Japan, in the East China Sea, lies a small chain of islands dubbed the “Hawaii of Japan”. By all accounts the aquamarine waters, cherry blossom sprinkled landscapes, and ruinous castles dating as far back as the 13th century make Okinawa bucket list-worthy.

Losing someone you love to suicide is a grief like no other — it’s something I wish I knew nothing of but sadly, like too many people, I do. More than 3000 Australians take their own lives each year an average of eight people a day. For every person who dies as a result of suicide, it’s estimated an additional 30 people make an attempt.

Biohacking is fast becoming a tool for engineering human performance and improving health. It’s being adopted by wellness warriors, influencers, scientists and chief executives alike. In a form of self-experimentation, the process of biological augmentation — hacking — includes a suite of growing biological and psychological interventions.

I love a good storm and this week’s drenching served up a beauty. A group of us were caught outside with little suitable shelter as the hail belted down. It was one of those “you can run, but you can’t hide” kind of moments. We huddled under an open-sided structure. Yeah, it didn’t help.

Chronic illness is the leading cause of disease, disability and death in Australia. Over half the population have at least one chronic illness — that is, a condition that generally lasts longer than three to 12 months. Many of the illnesses are preventable. About 38 per cent of the chronic disease burden in Australia is preventable, in fact.

The only guarantee in life is that it ends. Yet, death is often taboo. It’s not until we are confronted with the fragility of our own existence, or when a loved one dies, that we begin thinking and talking about death, generally.

From industry captains to world leaders, it seems the modern age is offering up an unprecedented mix of alpha males to fill top jobs. It follows a common narrative that tough times call for tough men, the sort that can bang heads, make the hard decisions and say the unsayable, all to get things done.